Class Controller
Application controller class for organization of business logic. Provides basic functionality, such as rendering views inside layouts, automatic model availability, redirection, callbacks, and more.
Controllers should provide a number of 'action' methods. These are public
methods on a controller that are not inherited from Controller
.
Each action serves as an endpoint for performing a specific action on a
resource or collection of resources. For example adding or editing a new
object, or listing a set of objects.
You can access request parameters, using $this->request
. The request object
contains all the POST, GET and FILES that were part of the request.
After performing the required action, controllers are responsible for
creating a response. This usually takes the form of a generated View
, or
possibly a redirection to another URL. In either case $this->response
allows you to manipulate all aspects of the response.
Controllers are created by Dispatcher
based on request parameters and
routing. By default controllers and actions use conventional names.
For example /posts/index
maps to PostsController::index()
. You can re-map
URLs using Router::connect() or RouterBuilder::connect().
Life cycle callbacks
CakePHP fires a number of life cycle callbacks during each request. By implementing a method you can receive the related events. The available callbacks are:
beforeFilter(Event $event)
Called before each action. This is a good place to do general logic that applies to all actions.beforeRender(Event $event)
Called before the view is rendered.beforeRedirect(Event $event, $url, Response $response)
Called before a redirect is done.afterFilter(Event $event)
Called after each action is complete and after the view is rendered.
- Cake\Controller\Controller implements Cake\Event\EventListenerInterface, Cake\Event\EventDispatcherInterface uses Cake\Event\EventDispatcherTrait , Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorAwareTrait , Cake\Log\LogTrait , Cake\Utility\MergeVariablesTrait , Cake\Datasource\ModelAwareTrait , Cake\Routing\RequestActionTrait , Cake\View\ViewVarsTrait
Direct Subclasses
Link: https://book.cakephp.org/3.0/en/controllers.html
Location: Controller/Controller.php
Properties summary
-
$View
publicInstance of the View created during rendering. Won't be set until after Controller::render() is called.
-
$_components
protectedInstance of ComponentRegistry used to create Components -
$_responseClass
protectedstring
The class name to use for creating the response object. -
$_validViewOptions
protectedarray
These Controller properties will be passed from the Controller to the View as options. -
$autoRender
protectedboolean
Set to true to automatically render the view after action logic.
-
$components
publicarray
Array containing the names of components this controller uses. Component names should not contain the "Component" portion of the class name.
-
$helpers
publicarray
An array containing the names of helpers this controller uses. The array elements should not contain the "Helper" part of the class name.
-
$name
protectedstring
The name of this controller. Controller names are plural, named after the model they manipulate. -
$paginate
publicarray
Settings for pagination. -
$passedArgs
publicarray
Holds all passed params. -
$plugin
protectedstring|null
Automatically set to the name of a plugin. -
$request
publicAn instance of a \Cake\Http\ServerRequest object that contains information about the current request. This object contains all the information about a request and several methods for reading additional information about the request.
-
$response
publicAn instance of a Response object that contains information about the impending response
Magic properties summary
-
$Auth
public -
$Cookie
public -
$Csrf
public -
$Flash
public -
$Paginator
public -
$RequestHandler
public -
$Security
public
Inherited Magic Properties
Inherited Properties
Method Summary
-
__construct() public
Constructor. -
__get() public
Magic accessor for model autoloading. -
__set() public
Magic setter for removed properties. -
_loadComponents() protected
Loads the defined components using the Component factory. -
_mergeControllerVars() protected
Merge components, helpers vars from parent classes.
-
_viewPath() protected
Get the viewPath based on controller name and request prefix. -
afterFilter() public
Called after the controller action is run and rendered. -
beforeFilter() public
Called before the controller action. You can use this method to configure and customize components or perform logic that needs to happen before each controller action.
-
beforeRedirect() public
The beforeRedirect method is invoked when the controller's redirect method is called but before any further action.
-
beforeRender() public
Called after the controller action is run, but before the view is rendered. You can use this method to perform logic or set view variables that are required on every request.
-
components() public
Get the component registry for this controller. -
disableAutoRender() public
Disable automatic action rendering. -
enableAutoRender() public
Enable automatic action rendering. -
getName() public
Returns the controller name. -
getPlugin() public
Returns the plugin name. -
getRequest() public
Gets the request instance. -
getResponse() public
Gets the response instance. -
implementedEvents() public
Returns a list of all events that will fire in the controller during its lifecycle. You can override this function to add your own listener callbacks
-
initialize() public
Initialization hook method. -
invokeAction() public
Dispatches the controller action. Checks that the action exists and isn't private.
-
isAction() public
Method to check that an action is accessible from a URL. -
isAutoRenderEnabled() public
Returns true if an action should be rendered automatically. -
loadComponent() public
Add a component to the controller's registry. -
paginate() public
Handles pagination of records in Table objects. -
redirect() public
Redirects to given $url, after turning off $this->autoRender. -
referer() public
Returns the referring URL for this request. -
render() public
Instantiates the correct view class, hands it its data, and uses it to render the view output. -
setAction() public
Internally redirects one action to another. Does not perform another HTTP request unlike Controller::redirect() -
setName() public
Sets the controller name. -
setPlugin() public
Sets the plugin name. -
setRequest() public
Sets the request objects and configures a number of controller properties based on the contents of the request. Controller acts as a proxy for certain View variables which must also be updated here. The properties that get set are:
-
setResponse() public
Sets the response instance. -
shutdownProcess() public
Perform the various shutdown processes for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.
-
startupProcess() public
Perform the startup process for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.
Method Detail
__construct() public ¶
__construct( Cake\Http\ServerRequest
$request null , Cake\Http\Response
$response null , string|null $name null , Cake\Event\EventManager
|null $eventManager null , Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry
|null $components null )
Constructor.
Sets a number of properties based on conventions if they are empty. To override the conventions CakePHP uses you can define properties in your class declaration.
Parameters
-
Cake\Http\ServerRequest
$request optional null Request object for this controller. Can be null for testing, but expect that features that use the request parameters will not work.
-
Cake\Http\Response
$response optional null - Response object for this controller.
- string|null $name optional null
- Override the name useful in testing when using mocks.
-
Cake\Event\EventManager
|null $eventManager optional null - The event manager. Defaults to a new instance.
-
Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry
|null $components optional null - The component registry. Defaults to a new instance.
__get() public ¶
__get( string $name )
Magic accessor for model autoloading.
Parameters
- string $name
- Property name
Returns
The model instance or false
__set() public ¶
__set( string $name , mixed $value )
Magic setter for removed properties.
Parameters
- string $name
- Property name.
- mixed $value
- Value to set.
_loadComponents() protected ¶
_loadComponents( )
Loads the defined components using the Component factory.
_mergeControllerVars() protected ¶
_mergeControllerVars( )
Merge components, helpers vars from parent classes.
_viewPath() protected ¶
_viewPath( )
Get the viewPath based on controller name and request prefix.
Returns
afterFilter() public ¶
afterFilter( Cake\Event\Event
$event )
Called after the controller action is run and rendered.
Parameters
-
Cake\Event\Event
$event - An Event instance
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullLink
beforeFilter() public ¶
beforeFilter( Cake\Event\Event
$event )
Called before the controller action. You can use this method to configure and customize components or perform logic that needs to happen before each controller action.
Parameters
-
Cake\Event\Event
$event - An Event instance
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullLink
beforeRedirect() public ¶
beforeRedirect( Cake\Event\Event
$event , string|array $url , Cake\Http\Response
$response )
The beforeRedirect method is invoked when the controller's redirect method is called but before any further action.
If the event is stopped the controller will not continue on to redirect the request. The $url and $status variables have same meaning as for the controller's method. You can set the event result to response instance or modify the redirect location using controller's response instance.
Parameters
-
Cake\Event\Event
$event - An Event instance
- string|array $url
A string or array-based URL pointing to another location within the app, or an absolute URL
-
Cake\Http\Response
$response - The response object.
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullLink
beforeRender() public ¶
beforeRender( Cake\Event\Event
$event )
Called after the controller action is run, but before the view is rendered. You can use this method to perform logic or set view variables that are required on every request.
Parameters
-
Cake\Event\Event
$event - An Event instance
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullLink
components() public ¶
components( Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry
|null $components null )
Get the component registry for this controller.
If called with the first parameter, it will be set as the controller $this->_components property
Parameters
-
Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry
|null $components optional null - Component registry.
Returns
disableAutoRender() public ¶
disableAutoRender( )
Disable automatic action rendering.
Returns
$this
Since
enableAutoRender() public ¶
enableAutoRender( )
Enable automatic action rendering.
Returns
$this
Since
implementedEvents() public ¶
implementedEvents( )
Returns a list of all events that will fire in the controller during its lifecycle. You can override this function to add your own listener callbacks
Returns
Implementation of
initialize() public ¶
initialize( )
Initialization hook method.
Implement this method to avoid having to overwrite the constructor and call parent.
invokeAction() public ¶
invokeAction( )
Dispatches the controller action. Checks that the action exists and isn't private.
Returns
The resulting response.
Throws
isAction() public ¶
isAction( string $action )
Method to check that an action is accessible from a URL.
Override this method to change which controller methods can be reached. The default implementation disallows access to all methods defined on Cake\Controller\Controller, and allows all public methods on all subclasses of this class.
Parameters
- string $action
- The action to check.
Returns
Whether or not the method is accessible from a URL.
Throws
isAutoRenderEnabled() public ¶
isAutoRenderEnabled( )
Returns true if an action should be rendered automatically.
Returns
Since
loadComponent() public ¶
loadComponent( string $name , array $config [] )
Add a component to the controller's registry.
This method will also set the component to a property. For example:
$this->loadComponent('Acl.Acl');
Will result in a Toolbar
property being set.
Parameters
- string $name
- The name of the component to load.
- array $config optional []
- The config for the component.
Returns
Throws
paginate() public ¶
paginate( Cake\ORM\Table
|string|Cake\ORM\Query
|null $object null , array $settings [] )
Handles pagination of records in Table objects.
Will load the referenced Table object, and have the PaginatorComponent
paginate the query using the request date and settings defined in $this->paginate
.
This method will also make the PaginatorHelper available in the view.
Parameters
-
Cake\ORM\Table
|string|Cake\ORM\Query
|null $object optional null Table to paginate (e.g: Table instance, 'TableName' or a Query object)
- array $settings optional []
- The settings/configuration used for pagination.
Returns
Throws
When no compatible table object can be found.
Link
redirect() public ¶
redirect( string|array $url , integer $status 302 )
Redirects to given $url, after turning off $this->autoRender.
Parameters
- string|array $url
A string or array-based URL pointing to another location within the app, or an absolute URL
- integer $status optional 302
- HTTP status code (eg: 301)
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullLink
referer() public ¶
referer( string|array|null $default null , boolean $local false )
Returns the referring URL for this request.
Parameters
- string|array|null $default optional null
- Default URL to use if HTTP_REFERER cannot be read from headers
- boolean $local optional false
- If true, restrict referring URLs to local server
Returns
Referring URL
render() public ¶
render( string|null $view null , string|null $layout null )
Instantiates the correct view class, hands it its data, and uses it to render the view output.
Parameters
- string|null $view optional null
- View to use for rendering
- string|null $layout optional null
- Layout to use
Returns
Link
setAction() public ¶
setAction( string $action , ... $args )
Internally redirects one action to another. Does not perform another HTTP request unlike Controller::redirect()
Examples:
setAction('another_action'); setAction('action_with_parameters', $parameter1);
Parameters
- string $action
The new action to be 'redirected' to. Any other parameters passed to this method will be passed as parameters to the new action.
- ... $args
- $args Arguments passed to the action
Returns
Returns the return value of the called action
setName() public ¶
setName( string $name )
Sets the controller name.
Parameters
- string $name
- Controller name.
Returns
$this
Since
setPlugin() public ¶
setPlugin( string $name )
Sets the plugin name.
Parameters
- string $name
- Plugin name.
Returns
$this
Since
setRequest() public ¶
setRequest( Cake\Http\ServerRequest
$request )
Sets the request objects and configures a number of controller properties based on the contents of the request. Controller acts as a proxy for certain View variables which must also be updated here. The properties that get set are:
- $this->request - To the $request parameter
- $this->passedArgs - Same as $request->params['pass]
Parameters
-
Cake\Http\ServerRequest
$request - Request instance.
Returns
$this
setResponse() public ¶
setResponse( Cake\Http\Response
$response )
Sets the response instance.
Parameters
-
Cake\Http\Response
$response - Response instance.
Returns
$this
Since
shutdownProcess() public ¶
shutdownProcess( )
Perform the various shutdown processes for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.
- triggers the component
shutdown
callback. - calls the Controller's
afterFilter
method.
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullstartupProcess() public ¶
startupProcess( )
Perform the startup process for this controller. Fire the Components and Controller callbacks in the correct order.
- Initializes components, which fires their
initialize
callback - Calls the controller
beforeFilter
. - triggers Component
startup
methods.
Returns
Cake\Http\Response
|nullMethods used from Cake\Event\EventDispatcherTrait
dispatchEvent() public ¶
dispatchEvent( string $name , array|null $data null , object|null $subject null )
Wrapper for creating and dispatching events.
Returns a dispatched event.
Parameters
- string $name
- Name of the event.
- array|null $data optional null
Any value you wish to be transported with this event to it can be read by listeners.
- object|null $subject optional null
The object that this event applies to ($this by default).
Returns
eventManager() public ¶
eventManager( Cake\Event\EventManager
$eventManager null )
Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.
You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.
Deprecated
Parameters
-
Cake\Event\EventManager
$eventManager optional null - the eventManager to set
Returns
getEventManager() public ¶
getEventManager( )
Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.
You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.
Returns
setEventManager() public ¶
setEventManager( Cake\Event\EventManager
$eventManager )
Returns the Cake\Event\EventManager manager instance for this object.
You can use this instance to register any new listeners or callbacks to the object events, or create your own events and trigger them at will.
Parameters
-
Cake\Event\EventManager
$eventManager - the eventManager to set
Returns
$this
Methods used from Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorAwareTrait
setTableLocator() public ¶
setTableLocator( Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface
$tableLocator )
Sets the table locator.
Parameters
-
Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface
$tableLocator - LocatorInterface instance.
Returns
$this
tableLocator() public ¶
tableLocator( Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface
$tableLocator null )
Sets the table locator. If no parameters are passed, it will return the currently used locator.
Deprecated
Parameters
-
Cake\ORM\Locator\LocatorInterface
$tableLocator optional null - LocatorInterface instance.
Returns
Methods used from Cake\Log\LogTrait
log() public ¶
log( mixed $msg , integer|string $level LogLevel::ERROR , string|array $context [] )
Convenience method to write a message to Log. See Log::write() for more information on writing to logs.
Parameters
- mixed $msg
- Log message.
- integer|string $level optional LogLevel::ERROR
- Error level.
- string|array $context optional []
- Additional log data relevant to this message.
Returns
Success of log write.
Methods used from Cake\Utility\MergeVariablesTrait
_mergeProperty() protected ¶
_mergeProperty( string $property , array $parentClasses , array $options )
Merge a single property with the values declared in all parent classes.
Parameters
- string $property
- The name of the property being merged.
- array $parentClasses
- An array of classes you want to merge with.
- array $options
- Options for merging the property, see _mergeVars()
_mergePropertyData() protected ¶
_mergePropertyData( array $current , array $parent , boolean $isAssoc )
Merge each of the keys in a property together.
Parameters
- array $current
- The current merged value.
- array $parent
- The parent class' value.
- boolean $isAssoc
- Whether or not the merging should be done in associative mode.
Returns
The updated value.
_mergeVars() protected ¶
_mergeVars( array $properties , array $options [] )
Merge the list of $properties with all parent classes of the current class.
Options:
associative
- A list of properties that should be treated as associative arrays. Properties in this list will be passed through Hash::normalize() before merging.
Parameters
- array $properties
- An array of properties and the merge strategy for them.
- array $options optional []
- The options to use when merging properties.
Methods used from Cake\Datasource\ModelAwareTrait
_setModelClass() protected ¶
_setModelClass( string $name )
Set the modelClass and modelKey properties based on conventions.
If the properties are already set they will not be overwritten
Parameters
- string $name
- Class name.
loadModel() public ¶
loadModel( string|null $modelClass null , string|null $modelType null )
Loads and constructs repository objects required by this object
Typically used to load ORM Table objects as required. Can also be used to load other types of repository objects your application uses.
If a repository provider does not return an object a MissingModelException will be thrown.
Parameters
- string|null $modelClass optional null
- Name of model class to load. Defaults to $this->modelClass
- string|null $modelType optional null
- The type of repository to load. Defaults to the modelType() value.
Returns
Throws
Cake\Datasource\Exception\MissingModelException
If the model class cannot be found.
InvalidArgumentException
When using a type that has not been registered.
UnexpectedValueException
If no model type has been defined
modelFactory() public ¶
modelFactory( string $type , callable $factory )
Override a existing callable to generate repositories of a given type.
Parameters
- string $type
- The name of the repository type the factory function is for.
- callable $factory
- The factory function used to create instances.
modelType() public ¶
modelType( string|null $modelType null )
Set or get the model type to be used by this class
Deprecated
Parameters
- string|null $modelType optional null
- The model type or null to retrieve the current
Returns
setModelType() public ¶
setModelType( string $modelType )
Set the model type to be used by this class
Parameters
- string $modelType
- The model type
Returns
$this
Methods used from Cake\Routing\RequestActionTrait
requestAction() public ¶
requestAction( string|array $url , array $extra [] )
Calls a controller's method from any location. Can be used to connect controllers together or tie plugins into a main application. requestAction can be used to return rendered views or fetch the return value from controller actions.
Under the hood this method uses Router::reverse() to convert the $url parameter into a string URL. You should use URL formats that are compatible with Router::reverse()
Examples
A basic example getting the return value of the controller action:
$variables = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular');
A basic example of request action to fetch a rendered page without the layout.
$viewHtml = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', ['return']);
You can also pass the URL as an array:
$vars = $this->requestAction(['controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'popular']);
Passing other request data
You can pass POST, GET, COOKIE and other data into the request using the appropriate keys.
Cookies can be passed using the cookies
key. Get parameters can be set with query
and post
data can be sent using the post
key.
$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [ 'query' => ['page' => 1], 'cookies' => ['remember_me' => 1], ]);
Sending environment or header values
By default actions dispatched with this method will use the global $_SERVER and $_ENV values. If you want to override those values for a request action, you can specify the values:
$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [ 'environment' => ['CONTENT_TYPE' => 'application/json'] ]);
Transmitting the session
By default actions dispatched with this method will use the standard session object. If you want a particular session instance to be used, you need to specify it.
$vars = $this->requestAction('/articles/popular', [ 'session' => new Session($someSessionConfig) ]);
Deprecated
Parameters
- string|array $url
String or array-based url. Unlike other url arrays in CakePHP, this url will not automatically handle passed arguments in the $url parameter.
- array $extra optional []
if array includes the key "return" it sets the autoRender to true. Can also be used to submit GET/POST data, and passed arguments.
Returns
Boolean true or false on success/failure, or contents of rendered action if 'return' is set in $extra.
Methods used from Cake\View\ViewVarsTrait
createView() public ¶
createView( string|null $viewClass null )
Constructs the view class instance based on the current configuration.
Parameters
- string|null $viewClass optional null
- Optional namespaced class name of the View class to instantiate.
Returns
Throws
set() public ¶
set( string|array $name , mixed $value null )
Saves a variable or an associative array of variables for use inside a template.
Parameters
- string|array $name
- A string or an array of data.
- mixed $value optional null
Value in case $name is a string (which then works as the key). Unused if $name is an associative array, otherwise serves as the values to $name's keys.
Returns
$this
viewOptions() public ¶
viewOptions( string|array|null $options null , boolean $merge true )
Get/Set valid view options in the object's _validViewOptions property. The property is
created as an empty array if it is not set. If called without any parameters it will
return the current list of valid view options. See createView()
.
Deprecated
Parameters
- string|array|null $options optional null
- string or array of string to be appended to _validViewOptions.
- boolean $merge optional true
Whether to merge with or override existing valid View options. Defaults to
true
.
Returns
The updated view options as an array.
Magic methods summary
isAuthorized() public ¶
isAuthorized( $user )
Parameters
- $user
Returns
Magic methods inherited from Cake\Event\EventDispatcherInterface
getEventManager()
|
Properties detail
$View ¶
Cake\View\View
Instance of the View created during rendering. Won't be set until after Controller::render() is called.
Deprecated
$_components ¶
Cake\Controller\ComponentRegistry
Instance of ComponentRegistry used to create Components
$_responseClass ¶
The class name to use for creating the response object.
'Cake\Http\Response'
$_validViewOptions ¶
These Controller properties will be passed from the Controller to the View as options.
See
Deprecated
[
'passedArgs'
]
$autoRender ¶
Set to true to automatically render the view after action logic.
true
$components ¶
Array containing the names of components this controller uses. Component names should not contain the "Component" portion of the class name.
Example:
public $components = ['RequestHandler', 'Acl'];
Link
Deprecated
[]
$helpers ¶
An array containing the names of helpers this controller uses. The array elements should not contain the "Helper" part of the class name.
Example:
public $helpers = ['Form', 'Html', 'Time'];
Link
Deprecated
[]
$name ¶
The name of this controller. Controller names are plural, named after the model they manipulate.
Set automatically using conventions in Controller::__construct().
$paginate ¶
Settings for pagination.
Used to pre-configure pagination preferences for the various tables your controller will be paginating.
See
[]
$passedArgs ¶
Holds all passed params.
Deprecated
$this->request->getParam('pass')
instead.[]
$request ¶
Cake\Http\ServerRequest
An instance of a \Cake\Http\ServerRequest object that contains information about the current request. This object contains all the information about a request and several methods for reading additional information about the request.
Deprecated 3.6.0: The property will become protected in 4.0.0. Use getRequest()/setRequest instead.
Link
$response ¶
Cake\Http\Response
An instance of a Response object that contains information about the impending response
Deprecated 3.6.0: The property will become protected in 4.0.0. Use getResponse()/setResponse instead.